The disclosed systems and methods relate generally to the field of radio-frequency (RF) devices. More specifically, the invention relates to establishing an RF link between a radio-controlled (RC) vehicle and its associated hand-held controller in response to an inertial measurement of the RC vehicle.
RC devices, including radio-controlled model vehicles, such as cars, boats, planes, helicopters, quadcopters, and other rotorcraft are enjoyed by hobbyists recreationally and competitively. FIG. 1 shows a radio-controlled system 100 known in the art. Conventional radio-controlled system 100 may include a radio-controlled device 110 and a hand-held controller 120. The radio-controlled device 110, such as a car, is typically controlled by a user through the use of a hand-held controller 120 that transmits radio signals corresponding to the user's input to a radio receiver component (not shown) of the radio-controlled device 100 via a wireless RF link 130. This allows the user to control a speed and direction of movement of the radio-controlled device 110 via the hand-held controller 120.
A common problem associated with RC vehicles relates to the process of establishing the wireless RF link between the vehicle (i.e., with a receiver on the vehicle) and the hand-held controller. This process of establishing the wireless RF link between components may be referred to as “binding.” After the wireless RF link is established (i.e., the RF receiver and the RF hand-held controller are bound), the components only communicate with each other. This allows multiple RC vehicles and transmitters to operate in the same geographical location.
One known method of binding requires a specialized plug (e.g., a “bind plug”) to be placed in the RC vehicle (e.g., in the receiver of the RC vehicle) before applying power to the RC vehicle. This type of binding has several drawbacks: users may lose the specialized plug, a portion of the RC vehicle might need to be taken apart to get the specialized plug into place (e.g., the canopy of an RC car may have to be removed to reach a port on a receiver), and it may be physically challenging to install or remove the specialized plug.
Another known method of binding entails a time-out method. In the time-out method, an RF component automatically enters the bind process for a fixed period of time after power is applied to the RF component. This type of binding may confuse consumers if the user does not apply power to the hand-held controller within the fixed period of time and has led to a poor user experience.